Narrowing Possibilities

When Andre Iguodala's desperation three clanged off the backboard, sealing the Sixers 54th loss, the lottery picture gained some clarity. After the jump we'll take a look at the rotation chart and the updated lottery odds.

A couple things to note. First, Jordan is screwing with Jrue's minutes, which pisses me off. Second, the starters outscored Miami 44-31 and only played the beginning of the first and third quarters as a unit.

This was another quintessential Eddie Jordan game. Only under Eddie could the Sixers shoot 55% from the floor, drain 11/19 from three and still lose. At some point, you'd think this joker would realize you can't win if you don't defend in this league. Luckily, after one more game he'll be someone else's problem, albeit on the Sixers' dime. Jodie Meeks continues to impress, but I'm still not sold this isn't fool's gold. Jason Kapono has caught fire from the field and continues to contribute next-to-nothing in all areas of the game don't start with an "s" and end with a "hooting."

This game would've been a much more comfortable loss if Jordan had found a way to juice Jason Smith's minutes a bit more, maybe on Wednesday.

After the Sixers defeat, the Knicks pulled off a win against the Wizards, putting New York out of reach. Unfortunately, the Clippers lost. After tonight's games, the Sixers can finish no worse than a tie for the 7th-worst record, no better than a three-way to for the 5th-worst record. Here's the narrowed scenario/odd breakdown:

If the Sixers win their final game and the Clippers lose theirs, the teams will finish tied for 7th and each will have a 12.5% chance at a top-three pick

If the Sixers win their final game and the Clippers win theirs, the Sixers will finish all alone in 7th and have a 15% chance at a top-three pick

If the Sixers lose their final game, Detroit loses their final game and Golden State loses either of their final two games, the Sixers will finish all alone in 7th and have a 15% chance at a top three pick.

If the Sixers lose their final game, Detroit wins their final game and GSW loses either of their remaining two games, the Sixers will finish in tied for 6th and have a 18.25% chance at a top-three pick.

If the Sixers lose their final game, Detroit wins their final game and GSW wins both of their remaining games, the Sixers will finish in a three-way tie for the 5th-worst record. All three teams will have an 18.9% chance at a top-three pick.

I can live with everything but the worst-case scenario. No matter what happens, the Sixers will have a better than 1 in 10 shot at a top-three pick. Let's just hope for a lucky bounce, huh.